The strength of the draft are prep outfielders and college pitchers. 2017 is supposed to be much better than the 2016 draft. Lot more potential high draft picks in the BA link (but it's premium content).

Keith Law is very high on Vanderbilt OF Jeren Kendall and has said he could be a potential 1.1 pick too.

There's some Sonny Gray in Bukauskas, I think, but I can't help shake the feeling that I don't buy him as a next level, top end starting pitcher. Nothing to really ... point to right now, though. Just a feeling.

I'll be curious how this class turns out in a year. A year ago, the 2016 draft didn't look that thin at the top, but it really flat0-lined. Going to be curious if all these pieces hold up.

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UVA's going to have a nice crop next year. Pavin Smith has one of the best bats in the country, a sweet lefty stroke with power. Feels like he should go at least in the top 3 rounds. My hunch is Adam Haseley is going to end up being drafted as a pitcher if he can keep adding a little more velocity and sit low 90's. Feel like his ceiling as a pitcher is higher than his ceiling as CF, but he does have a good approach and a nice swing. Feels like a top 5 round or so guy either way. Tommy Doyle has a good fastball/breaking ball combination, but his ceiling probably is that of a middle relief/borderline setup guy unless something really clicks.

That said, the two most interesting guys to me are Ernie Clement and Derek Casey. I think Clement moves to shortstop next year, although that's to be determined. If he moves to short and continues to show a nice approach and gets on base, could be an interesting guy up the middle. I even think there might be a bit more pop in there.

Casey had electric stuff out of the prep ranks. Fastball topped out at 95 back then. He got off to a good start his freshman year before going down with TJ. Going to be curious how he comes back ... could really jump up the ladder.

Wouldn't surprise me if UVA's run of first round picks continued next year - Smith the most likely, Casey a possible darkhorse.

High school baseball’s national governing body unveiled a new policy on Tuesday that requires pitchers to be given rest between a certain number of pitches in an outing, changing its focus from innings pitched to pitch counts.

Each state association will be required to develop its own pitch count restriction, the National Federation of State High School Associations announced in a news release. Currently, the policy covers an innings limit in a week. For example, the California Interscholastic Federation limits pitchers to a maximum of 10 innings in a week.

The decision emphasizes the “risk that occurs when pitchers overuse their throwing arm,” Elliot Hopkins, NFHS director of sports and student services and staff liaison for baseball, said in a news release.

A 2015 study by the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine found that 56.7 percent of Tommy John surgeries were performed on 15-to-19-year-olds between 2007 and 2011.

CaliforniaRaisin wrote:So Darren Baker is a 2B/OF playing in the Area Code Games who will be eligible for the 2017 Draft. You know, Dusty's son, who was last seen in JT Snow's arms during the 2002 World Series.

I'm assuming he's been told all his life that taking walks is bad because he clogs the basepaths when he takes a walk.

With the Fowler signing, the Cubs now have a compensatory pick which will wind up likely 36th overall or possibly 37th if a team that has already given up their 1st round pick signs another QO'd FA. With the Cardinals losing their 1st rounder, the Cubs 1st round selection is now 28th. If the remaining 5 QO'd FAs all sign with teams other than their 2016 club and teams drafting outside the top 10, their pick could go as high as 23rd overall.

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"But you're stuck in a horsefeathers' stigma of the horsefeathers' Dodgers and the Phillies and the Cardinals..." - Lee Elia on April 29, 1983

28 of the top 50 are pitchers, 15 are college guys. Considering the drafts strength is supposed to be college arms, I could see us using both our 1st and comp pick on pitching this year.

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Additional rule: you have to have one or the other.The only exception is you have an amazing board name. davell, I'm looking at you; put up a [expletive] avatar or something if your name only sounds like somebody tried say Dave as they lapsed into a coma.